Free Republic

The second anniversary of America's expedition into Iraq passed with relatively scant fanfare. Since hostilities in Mesopotamia commenced, thousands of American and Iraqi casualties have been tallied. Every month Washington spends billion of dollars on counterinsurgency and rebuilding efforts in Iraq and further afield, which swells the nation's largest budget and budget deficit in its history[i]. As vast quantities of blood and treasure are expended abroad, Washington politicians win plaudits domestically for their warmongering, and government contracting at home and abroad burgeon, on what basis is this imperial project—financed by foreign lenders and American taxpayers—justified?... ...Democracy deconstructed As Hans Hermann-Hoppe...

Recently the BBC decided to conduct an informal survey around Iraq: "Two years after the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad, marking the fall of the city to US-led forces, BBC Arabic.com asked seven Iraqis for their thoughts on how life has changed for them since the conflict." The results were surprising--at least for the BBC, whose attitude toward the liberation of Iraq has always been lukewarm at best. They were surprising for me too, not so much in what the seven Iraqis had to say, but that the BBC chose to run the story. Here's Saad, 32,...

Peace of history April 2005 ... British troop puts a smile on the face of Iraqi kids         By TREVOR KAVANAGH Political Editor IT has been a long time coming, but anti-war campaigners are finally admitting something good has come out of the liberation of Iraq two years ago. The turning point came in January as eight million courageous civilians risked life and limb to vote for a regime that might not slaughter them. It was accompanied by Libya’s decision to end its hostilities to the West. And it gathered pace as first the Palestinians, then...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES FORT HOOD, Texas -- President Bush yesterday likened the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad two years ago to the fall of the Berlin Wall and called it part of a "global democratic revolution." "Many of you have recently returned from Iraq," Mr. Bush told 25,000 cheering soldiers on a sun-drenched field. "Others are preparing to head out this fall -- some for a second tour of duty." "Whether you're coming or going, you are making an enormous difference for the security of our nation and for the peace of the world," he added. "I came...

President Bush visited the troops at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. The President was cheered wildly by over 7,000 troops as he thanked them for their sacrifices to our Nation. The President later met with the families of over 30 Soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan

(AP) President Bush speaks about the War on Terror to troops at Fort Hood, Texas, Tuesday, April 12,...Full Image FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) - President Bush visited soldiers at the largest U.S. military base Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of the end of Saddam Hussein's regime by saying it will be remembered along with the fall of the Berlin Wall as one of history's greatest moments.Bush thanked the soldiers at Fort Hood who have recently returned from Iraq or are heading there this fall, but said it isn't time to start bringing U.S. forces home."Iraqis want to be led...

What a difference two years can make. Commenting on the news that Saddam Hussein's nemesis, leader of the people Saddam liked to gas, has now been elected President of Iraq, Mohammed Saleh, a 42-year old Kurd interviewed by the media on the streets of Kirkuk, had this to say: "Today Jalal Talabani made it to the seat of power, while Saddam Hussein is sitting in jail. . . . Who would have thought." History is, of course, full of delicious ironies. Not the least that the authorities have permitted Iraq's Prisoner No. 1 to watch from his prison cell the...

Protests Mark Fall of Baghdad April 10, 2005 BAGHDAD, Iraq — Tens of thousands of Shiites (search) marked the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad (search) with a protest against the American military presence at the square where Iraqis and U.S. troops toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago. The protesters back Muqtada al-Sadr (search), a radical Shiite cleric whose militia led uprisings against U.S. troops last year, and their large numbers reflected frustration both with the U.S. government (search) and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency. "This huge gathering shows that the Iraqi people have the strength...

Amid the danger for U.S. troops and civilians in Iraq there's also plenty of hope: The American mission includes reconstruction projects that are revitalizing parts of Iraqi society, especially the schools. Iraqi schoolchildren are eager to learn, and many people say the country's school system is one of the bright spots in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion two years ago. But there is still much to do. Most of Iraq's schools are still run down and out of date. According to the Ministry of Education, 5,000 additional schools are needed, and repairs are required at 80 percent of existing...

Baghdad -- Two militant Muslim clerics, one Sunni and one Shiite, have called for demonstrations today to protest the continuing U.S. occupation of Iraq two years after the toppling of President Saddam Hussein. If the protests materialize, they will be the first large-scale rallies to occur under Iraq's new government, whose most senior leaders -- President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari -- were formally installed this week. Jafari is now forming his Cabinet. Moqtada al-Sadr, a young militant Shiite cleric with a large following in Baghdad's huge slum of Sadr City, has urged a peaceful march from Firdaus...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Images of jubilant Iraqis toppling a 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein and pelting it with garbage and shoes in Firdos Square defined the moment Baghdad fell to U.S. troops two years ago, a prelude to what many hoped would be democracy and freedom in a new Iraq. Now radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is urging his supporters to mass at the square Saturday and mark the anniversary by directing anger at the U.S.-led coalition. "The occupation forces started with this place, and now from this same place we want them to leave Iraq," said Sheik Abdul-Hadi...

Anti-American/Bush/Reason Idiots on parade This week I'm bringing you some more pics form the anti-democracy protests on the weekend on March 19h. Although a few of these pics are from bloggers and forums (www.theconservativerevolution.com and Protest Warrior, for example), most of them are from IndyMedia's coverage of the San Fran march. Hopefully We'll be able to bring you even more next week. "GATOR!""See? People of all faiths think it was great to let Saddam train terrorists and torture his population!"Well then, go right over to Iraq, get on the side of the lead truck in a supply convoy and start...

BAGHDAD - Two years after war dramatically changed Iraq (news - web sites)'s political landscape, the former ruling minority Sunnis are developing plans to participate in a government formed by elections they boycotted. In a significant shift, several Sunni groups that hitherto shunned the political process met last weekend to create a unified front and set of demands that they will present to the Shiite and Kurdish leaders now hammering out a new government.

This past Saturday, March 19, 2005, marked the two year anniversary of arguably one of the most controversial wars in the history of our country: the Iraq War. It marked the ultimate end of a regime led by Saddam Hussein which was responsible for countless atrocities. It also left Americans sharply divided on the necessity of this war, a division which played out on the large screen of a Presidential election. It’s been two years. Where are we now? Over the past two years, we have heard all the various arguments, ranging from whether or not the Iraqi people wanted...

It's been a week since Bluesagewoman had been assaulted by the so-called "peace" freak. We all know that he was arrested this past Sunday for all kinds of assault charges, not only against Blue but against the Columbia Police as well. Ahh...Justice. Anyhow, Blue was not alone this time around. There were 6 of us Freepers total this afternoon, and I am going to be a permanent fixture there. Blue is not going to be assaulted again, not if I have any say. We fixed ourselves just down the street from the usual rif-raf crowd of "peaceniks". Of course, they...

To mark the second anniversary of the U.S.-led war in Iraq on March 19, various anti-war groups are planning to protest in Fayetteville, N.C., the home of Fort Bragg. It's not the protest, but the location that has some people upset. An organization representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan said demonstrators are "wrong and insensitive" to take their complaints to Fort Bragg, because it blames the warriors for the war. "The decision makers are not at Fort Bragg, they are in Washington. Rallying against the war by marching at Fort Bragg is like protesting the cows if...

A question is popping up around the globe as the topic of cocktail conversations. Even in countries where cocktails aren't served as a matter of religious propriety, people are incredulously asking, "Could George W. Bush be right?" Youssef Ibrahim, a former Middle East correspondent for the New York Times, now head of a consulting firm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, writing in the Washington Post: "Regardless of Bush's intentions — which many Arabs and Muslims still view with suspicion — the U.S. president and his neoconservative crowd are helping to spawn a spirit of reform and a new vigor to...

OK folks, here's the deal... Lately, I have been unable to take care of my duties as a husband and father (including home-schooling) and also provide quality Caption-A-Rama. This has resulted in the horrid gaps experienced late last year and over the last two weeks. Add in the time I need to write columns and work on my small business and there's little time left. As much as I love this and love all of you, it's very time consuming and has to fall in the ranks of "hobbies" on the old priority list. So here's the deal: From now...

Paris -- After Pascal Bruckner publicly backed the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003, anonymous callers threatened him by phone. Strangers insulted him on the street. Friends and colleagues told him that he had taken a gutsy but mistaken stance against the mighty antiwar tide in France. Two years later, the prominent French novelist is hearing very different reactions. "People are saying that even if Americans are making a lot of mistakes, they are changing things," said Bruckner, who supported ousting Saddam Hussein but is sharply critical of the Bush administration's handling of the conflict, "while Europe -- and especially...

It has been now two years since the United States, UK and other countries invaded our nation. It has been two years since Iraqis have had to live with daily violent attacks and rampant terrorism. It has been two years since our nation began being turned upside down. It has been two years since the road to democracy began. It has been a very hard two years. So many people have died, so much has been destroyed, so many drops of tears and blood have been shed, so many have been robbed of loved ones, and so many words have...